AMA Website Citation: Format, Rules & Examples
Your bibliography
0 sourcesAMA Website Citation follows the pattern: Author. Title of the item. Name of Website. Date published. Updated date. Accessed date. URL. In AMA 11th edition, dates are spelled out, no “Published” label is used, and the URL ends without a period.
How do you cite a website in AMA style?
Cite a website in AMA 11th edition by listing the author, the title of the specific page, the name of the website, the publication or update date, the access date, and the URL. Separate every element with a period, but leave the URL unpunctuated.
The core template is:
TemplateAuthor AA. Title of the specific item cited. Name of Website. Date published. Updated date. Accessed date. URL
When a web page names no individual author, the organization moves into the author slot or, if it is the same as the site publisher, the citation simply opens with the page title. AMA does not italicize web page titles, and the access date is mandatory because online content changes.
- Author — surname then initials, no periods between initials, ending with one period.
- Page title — sentence case, not italicized, followed by a period.
- Website name — the publisher or site title, followed by a period.
- Dates — spelled-out publication/update date, then the required “Accessed” date.
- URL — the full link with http:// or https://, and no closing period.
What goes in each element of an AMA website reference?
Each AMA element has a strict style: authors use initials without spacing, titles use sentence case, dates are spelled out in full, and the URL closes the reference without punctuation. The table below summarizes the rules that trip most students up.
| Element | AMA 11th rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Surname + initials, no periods or spaces between initials; commas between multiple authors | Smith AB, Jones CD. |
| Page title | Sentence case, roman (not italic), one period after | Managing type 2 diabetes. |
| Website name | Name of the site or publisher, roman, one period after | Mayo Clinic. |
| Date | Month spelled out, day, year; use “Updated” if a revision date is given | Updated March 4, 2024. |
| Accessed date | Required for all websites; preceded by “Accessed” | Accessed June 2, 2025. |
| URL | Full address with protocol; no period at the end | https://example.org/page |
Note two edition-specific quirks: AMA 11th drops the word “Published” before a publication date, and if a page shows both a published and an updated date you cite only the updated one.
How do you write the AMA in-text citation for a website?
AMA uses a numeric citation system, so you cite a website in text with a superscript arabic numeral, not the author’s name. The number matches the source’s position in your numbered reference list, and each source keeps the same number every time you cite it.
Place the superscript immediately after the relevant word or punctuation, outside a period but before a colon or semicolon.
In textTelehealth adoption rose sharply during the pandemic.3
RangeSeveral guidelines address remote monitoring.2,5,7
The first source cited anywhere in your paper becomes reference 1, the second becomes reference 2, and so on. You do not alphabetize an AMA reference list; you order it by appearance in the text.
AMA website citation examples
Real formatted examples clarify the rules faster than templates. The set below covers the situations you will actually encounter: a personal author, an organization as author, a page with no date, and a government resource.
Website with a personal author
ReferenceRainie L. The rise of the e-patient. Pew Research Center. October 7, 2009. Accessed January 11, 2012. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/10/07/the-rise-of-the-e-patient-2/
Website with an organization as author
ReferenceAbout air quality. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated May 14, 2024. Accessed February 28, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/air-quality/about/
Page with no publication date
ReferenceAmerican Heart Association. Understanding blood pressure readings. American Heart Association. Accessed April 9, 2025. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings
Government health resource
ReferenceDepression. National Institute of Mental Health. Updated 2024. Accessed March 5, 2025. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression
When the organization that authored the page is the same as the website name, AMA still repeats it in the website-name slot, as the CDC and AHA examples show. When they differ, both appear.
How do you handle a missing author or date?
Missing information is common on the web, and AMA has clear fallbacks. When no author is listed, move the organization or the page title into the author position; when no date appears, omit the publication date and rely on the required access date to time-stamp the source.
- No individual author: use the organization name, or start with the page title if the organization is also the publisher.
- No date at all: skip the published/updated date entirely, but always keep the
Accesseddate. - Both published and updated dates: cite only the updated date, preceded by the word “Updated.”
- Long or tracking-laden URLs: use the clean canonical link; AMA does not require shortening but expects a working address.
Do not invent an author, and never substitute “n.d.” — that abbreviation belongs to APA, not AMA. The access date carries the temporal information AMA needs.
How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?
This guide reflects the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, the current version, and its examples mirror formats published by university medical libraries. Still, a few cases fall outside a single website template and deserve a caution.
- Source type matters. An online journal article, a PDF report, a dataset, or a social media post each has its own AMA pattern; do not force them into the website template.
- Journals override the manual. Some publishers apply house variations of AMA, so check your target journal’s author instructions.
- Generators need review. Automated tools, including ours, speed up formatting but can miss a missing author or a sentence-case title. Proofread every reference against the rules above.
Used as a checklist rather than a shortcut, these rules will produce references that pass an AMA-based review.
Frequently asked questions
Does AMA style italicize website titles?
No. AMA 11th edition sets both the page title and the website name in roman type. Italics in AMA are reserved for journal titles, book titles, and a few scientific terms, not web pages.
Is the access date required in an AMA website citation?
Yes. Because online content can change or disappear, AMA requires an “Accessed” date for every website reference, even when a publication or update date is also present.
Do you put a period after the URL in AMA?
No. In AMA 11th edition the URL is the final element and takes no closing period, which prevents readers from mistaking the punctuation for part of the link.
How do AMA in-text citations for websites work?
You cite the website with a superscript number that matches its spot in your reference list. References are numbered in the order they first appear in the text, never alphabetized.
What if the website has no author?
Use the organization as the author. If the organization is also the website publisher, start the reference with the page title instead, then list the site name in its usual place.
Does AMA use the word “Published” before the date?
No. Unlike some earlier practice, AMA 11th edition omits “Published” and states the date directly. Only a revision date carries a label, written as “Updated” followed by the date.